Household refuse compactor

ABSTRACT

A trash compactor comprising a frame, a stationary ram mounted on said frame, a trash receptacle, a hydraulic container for mounting said trash receptacle, linkage means secured relative to said frame and said hydraulic container for moving said hydraulic container and said receptacle carried thereby between a first position wherein said trash may be loaded into said receptacle and a second position wherein said receptacle is in axial alignment with said ram, a reservoir for hydraulic fluid contained within said ram, pump means in communication with said reservoir, said hydraulic container being expandible and in communication with said pump means whereby the pumping of hydraulic fluid from said reservoir into said hydraulic container will move said receptacle toward said ram so as to compact trash therein, and control means for selectively energizing said pump means, said control means including pressure responsive valve means in communication with said pump means for breaking an electric circuit to said pump means and thus deenergizing said pump means in response to the sensing of a predetermined pressure in the hydraulic container.

United States Patent 11 1 Oles et al. Feb. 20, 1973 [54] HOUSEHOLDREFUSE COMPACTOR Primary Examiner-Billy]. Wilhite 75 inventors: HerbertE.0les,Wi11iamsvil1e;John Weber W. Thiesen, Jr., Buffalo, both of 57]ABSTRACT [73] Assignee: American Precision Industries inc.,

Buffalo, N.Y. A trash compactor comprising a frame, a stationary rammounted on said frame, a trash rece tacle, a [22] Flled' Sept 1971hydraulic container for mounting said trash reccpta- [21] Appl. No.:183,978 cle, linkage means secured relative to said frame and saidhydraulic container for moving said hydraulic 52 us. 01 ..100/52, 10053, 100/229 A, wmme' and Said receptade carried thereby between 100/266100/269 A, 100/295, loo/DIG 15 a first position wherein said trash maybe loaded into [51] 1nt.Cl. ..B30b 15/16 Said receptacle and a SecondPosition wherein Said 53 Field f Search "100/52, 229 R, 229 A 262,receptacle is in axial alignment with said ram, 21 reser- 100 2 9 11 2 9A, 295 50 52 mg 5 voir for hydraulic fluid contained within said ram,pump means in communication with said reservoir, [56] References it dsaid hydraulic container being expandible and in com- I munication withsaid pump means whereby the pump- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing of hydraulicfluid from said reservoir into said 3,654,855 4/1972 Longo ..100/229hydraulic container will move Said receptacle toward 3,683,795 8/1972Harris ..100/53 i ram 50 as to compact trash therein, and control3,478,909 11/1969 Charles ....l00/269A means for selectively energizingsaid pump means, 3,514,969 6/1970 Harza ..,.100/269 A Said comm] meansincluding pressure responsive valve ggig 3 Howard at loo/266x means incommunication with said pump means for 332381403 111951.1'5531'511/5314? biekiig an e e ciiwii to said P means and 3,133,4925/1904 Czulak et al ..100/209 R thus energizing P means iesimse the3,537,390 11/1970 Hinkeletal. ..100/53 x Sensing of a predeterminedPres-Sure iii the hydraulic 3,669,009 6/1972 Pratt ..l00/52 container.3,685,438 8/1972 Ziegler ..lOO/229 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS8/1939 Great Britain ..100/250 9 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PAmmimmoSHEET 10F 5 INVENTORS HERBERT E. OLES JOHN W. THIESENJR BY iii 5PATENTEU Z 01 75 SHEET 30F 5 IN VENTORS HERBERT E. OLES BY JOHN w.THIESEN,JR

AT TOHNF YE;

HOUSEHOLD REFUSE COMPACTOR The present invention relates to an improvedtrash compactor for home use.

It is one object of the present invention to provide an improved trashcompactor for home use which is relatively compact as a result of anunique arrangement of its operating parts.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved trashcompactor for home use which can be loaded and unloaded in a convenientmanner and in which the parts requiring periodic cleaning are readilyaccessible.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtrash compactor for home use having an unique hydraulic circuit which ishoused completely within the confines of the trash compactor.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtrash compactor for home use which possesses an unique mechanicallinkage for moving the trash receiving receptacle between loading andcompacting positions. Other objects and attendant advantages of thepresent invention will readily be perceived hereafter.

The improved trash compactor of the present invention comprises a frame,a ram mounted relative to said frame, a trash receptacle, linkage meanssecured relative to said frame to move said receptacle between a firstposition wherein trash may be loaded therein and a second position whereit is in axial alignment with said ram, a reservoir for hydraulic fluid,pump means in communication with said reservoir, an expandible hydrauliccontainer in communication with said pump means, means for mounting saidreceptacle on said hydraulic container and moving it toward said ram soas to compact trash in said receptacle, and control means forselectively energizing said pump means. In its more specific aspects,the reservoir is located within said ram to conserve space. Furthermore,the linkage meanS comprise elongated links for moving said hydrauliccontainer between a loading position and a compacting position, thelinks being so oriented and associated with each other and the remainderof the apparatus so as to stabilize said container during compactionwhile occupying relatively little space within the housing of thecompactor. In addition, the control meanS for energizing the pump meansinclude a pressure responsive valve for terminating compaction when thehydraulic fluid reaches a predetermined value.

The various aspects of the present invention will be more fullyunderstood when the following portions of the specification are read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved trash compactor;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 22 ofFIG. 1 and showing the orientation of the various components includingthe structure for supporting the trash receptacle when the compactordoor is closed;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the trash compactor withits door open and the trash receptacle in position for loading oremptying of trash;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view takensubstantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and showing the combined ram andreservoir for the selfcontained water supply and also showing thevarious details of construction of the trash receptacle and itssupporting structure prior to compaction;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantial along line 5-5 ofFIG. 1 and showing the trash receptacle and its supporting structure inan elevated position wherein the trash therein is compacted by the ram;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 ofFIG. 2 and showing the details for mounting the upper ends of certainlinks and also showing details of construction of the upper frame;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 77 ofFIG. 2 and showing the details of construction of the upper portion ofthe trash receptacle container and its mounting structure;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 8-8 ofFIG. 2 and showing in greater detail the construction for mounting thelower ends of the various links and also showing the construction of thelower portion of the housing frame;

FIGS. 9-14 are fragmentary cross sectional views taken substantiallyalong lines 9-9 to 1414 of FIGS. 2 and 3 for showing in enlarged detailthe connections between various links;

FIG. 15 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram for the compactor; and

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongline l616 of FIG. 7 and showing in greater detail the manner in whichthe return springs are mounted relative to the frame and receptaclecontainer and also showing in dotted lines the manner in which thesprings are stretched during the compaction process.

The improved trash compactor 10 of the present invention includes aframe having a pair of front vertical angles 11 and a pair of rearvertical angles 11'. The lower ends of each pair of angles 11-1 1 on thesides of the compactor are joined by angles 12 secured thereto as bywelding. Angle 13 joins the bottoms of angles 11 across the front of thecompactor (FIG. 8) and angle 13 joins the bottoms of angles 11' acrossthe rear of the compactor. The upper ends of each pair of angles ll1lare joined by angles 14 on the sides of the compactor. The tops ofangles 11 are joined by angle 15 and the tops of angles 11 are joined byangle 15'. Enameled metal side wall surfaces 16 are suitably secured toeach pair of angles 11-11. Enameled metal plate 17 is suitably securedto the top angles l4, l5 and 15', and an upper panel 18 is suitablysecured to front angles 11 at the upper portion of the front of thecompactor.

By way of preview, suitably mounted within the above described frame ofcompactor 10 is a hollow stationary ram 19 which also functions as areservoir for containing a supply of water or other suitable hydraulicfluid, a motor-pump unit 20, a sealed expansible hydraulic container 21for receiving water from the reservoir via the pump, and a movablereceptacle container 22 which carries a demountable trash receptacle 23upwardly for compaction of the trash therein by the ram 19.

The combined ram and reservoir 19 is fabricated from rigid metal and isof very slight frustoconical configuration so that it contains adownward draft. Ram 19 also provides a chamber 24 which serves as areservoir for water or other hydraulic fluid. The upper portion of ram19 merges into horizontal flange 25 (FIGS. 4 and 6) which is ofrectangular configuration and extends substantially from front to rearand from side to side of the compactor. Front triangular support members26 and rear triangular support members 27 have their lower edges weldedto flange 25. The lower portions of the rectangular frame 28 consistingof panels 28, 29, 30 and 31 are welded to flange 25, with the outervertical edges of triangular members 26 and 27 being welded to thejunctions between adjacent panels, as shown in FIG. 6. A top plate 32(FIG. 4) is welded to the upper edges of the panels of frame 28' and hasportions which extend outwardly horizontally beyond frame 28 and theseportions are secured at select spaced locations to the horizontal legsof upper angles -15 by screws 33.

Secured to side panels 29 and 31 of the upper frame 28, as by welding,are a plurality of vertically oriented short channel members 34, 35, 36and 37 which mount the upper ends of the links which carry receptaclecontainer 22 (FIGS. 2 and 6). Legs 38 and 39 of channel 34 are welded topanel 29, as are legs 40 and 41 of channel 36, with legs 39 and 40 beingwelded to each other to provide extremely high rigidity at this point.Legs 42 and 43 of channel 35 are welded to panel 31 as are legs 44 and45 of channel 37, with legs 43 and 44 being welded to each other toprovide high rigidity at this point.

Vertical elongated links 44 and 45 are pivotally secured to the bases ofchannels 35 and 37 by pins 46 and 47, respectively. Pin 46 (FIG. 13)essentially includes a central body portion 48, a head 49 and a reducedportion 50 which receives a spring retainer or snap ring 51. Pin 47 issimilar to pin 46 and the specific structure thereof will not bedescribed. Certain other pins which attach other links to the variousportions of the unit are of the same type as pin 46, as can be seen fromthe drawings, but are of different lengths and in the interest ofbrevity, their construction will not be described. Secured to the basesof channels 34 and 36 by pins 46' and 47', respectively, are links 44'and 45', respectively, which are the mirror images of links 44 and 45.While the ensuing description will generally be directed only to thelinks on the side of the unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it will beappreciated that the links, such as 44' and 45', on the other side ofthe unit, operate in an identical manner except in mirror imagerelationship to links 44 and 45.

' Link 44 includes a central body portion 52 consisting of sides 53 and54 connected by a curved portion 55, so as to be U-shaped in crosssection throughout most of its length. As can be seen, the curvedportion 55 terminates at 56 at the top of the link and at 57 at thebottom. Extending beyond portion 56 are ears 58 and 59 (FIG. 13), whichare extensions of sides 53 and 54, through which pin 46 extends. Link 45includes a central body portion 60 having sides 61 and 62 connected bycurved portion 63 which terminates at its upper end at 64 and at itslower end at 65, so as to be U-shaped in cross section throughout mostof its length. Sides 61 and 62 continue upwardly to form ears 66 and 67,respectively, which receive pin 47. The lower ends of sides 53 and 54 oflink 44 are pinned by pin 68 to ears 70 (FIG. 9) which extends upwardlyfrom rectangular plate 72 (FIG. 5) which comprises a base which ex tendsacross the width of the unit and includes apertures 73 to reduce itsweight. The lower ends of sides 61 and 62 of link 45 are pinned by pin69 to ear 71 which extends upwardly from plate 72. At this point it isto be noted that the lower portions of links 44 and 45' are secured bypins 68' and 69' to ears and 71 respectively, which are mirror images ofears 70 and 71, respectively, and extend upwardly from plate-72.

The linkage for supporting hydrauliccontainer 21 is also fastened topins 68-68 and 69-69. More specifically, link 74 (FIGS. 3 and 9) isessentially of U-shaped cross section throughout most of its length withsides 75 and 76 which are connected by curved portion 77, the U-shapedportion terminating at point 78 near the top, and the sides 75 and 76continuing on as ears 79 and 80, respectively, (FIG. 11). Pivotallymounted on pin 69 is the right angle corner of triangular link 81 (FIGS.3 and 8), the right side of which is formed into the shape of a U (FIG.8) and is mounted in straddling relationship to ear 71 and in nestingrelationship to the spaced legs 61 and 62 of link 45. More specifically,link 81, in addition to including triangular portion 92, includes aflange portion 93 connected to portion 92 by curved portion 94 (FIG.12), with portion 93 extending parallel to edge 94 throughout the lengthof the link (FIG. 3). Links 74' and 81' (FIG. 8) are mirror images oflinks 74 and 81, respectively, and are secured to their pivot pins in amanner analogous to that described above relative to links 74 and 81.

The upper ends of links 74 and 81 are pivotally mounted on bracket 83having a central portion 84 and bent over side portion 85 and straightside portion 86. The ears 79 and 80 of link 74 are mounted on pin 87(FIG. 11) having outer cylindrical reduced end portions 88 and 89 and acentral cylindrical portion 90. The upper end of link 81 (FIG. 12) ismounted on pin 91 which may be of the same form as pin-87. A counterpartbracket 83', which is the mirror image of bracket 83, is provided on theopposite side of the compactor and is secured by pins such as 87 and 91to the upper ends of links 74' and 81' which are the mirror imagecounterparts of links 74 and 81, respectively. Furthermore, their modeof connection is a mirror image relationship to the connection describedabove relative to links 74 and 81 at their upper ends.

Brackets 83 and 83' include upper horizontal flanges 95 and 95,respectively, and lower horizontal flanges 96 and 96', respectively. Ascan be seen from FIG. 7, flange 96' terminates at a curved edge 97.Flange 95 which lies above flange 96' terminates at curved edge 98' soas to follow the contour of cylindrical hydraulic container 21. Flange95 terminates at a curved edge 98" which is the mirror image of edge 98,and flange 96 terminates at a curved edge 97" which is the mirror imageof edge 97. Brackets 83 and 83' support hydraulic container 21 by havingflanges 96 and 96' secured to circular rim 99 of lower housing portion100 and to circular rim 101 of upper housing portion 102 by spaced nutsand bolts 103 with the edge of a cylindrical diaphragm 104 being clampedbetween rims 99 and 101. The inner portions of flanges 95 and 95' aresecured as by welding to circular shoulder 82 (FIG. 5) of hydrauliccontainer 21'. I

The above described linkage between the upper portion of the frame andthe hydraulic container 21 functions to securely hold the latter duringthe actual process of compacting trash and it also functions in movingthe hydraulic container 21 and the receptacle container 22 carriedthereby between the closed position shown in FIG. 2 wherein trash can becompacted and the open position shown in FIG. 3 wherein trash can beloaded into the removable trash receptacle 23 in the receptaclecontainer 21, or where the trash receptacle 23 can be removed foremptying. The linkage also includes a link 105 and its mirror imagecounterpart 105. Link 105 has its upper end pivotally mounted on pin 46(FIG. 13) and its lower end pivotally mounted on portion 92 of link 81and coupled thereto by pin 106 (FIG. The foregoing linkage causeshydraulic container 21 to move out in an out of housing unit 10 housingin a substantially horizontal rectilinear path notwithstanding that thepivotal movement of links 44 and 45 from the position shown in FIG. 2 tothe position shown in FIG. 3 would tend to cause the container to rise.Because of the existence of link 105 and its counter part 105', the topsof links 74 and 81 will tend to drop in a controlled fashionsubstantially simultaneously with the rising of the lower portions oflinks 44 and 45 so as to in essence maintain hydraulic container 21 at asubstantially uniform elevation as it is moved in and out of the'insideof unit 10.

To facilitate and guide movement of receptacle container 21 between thepositions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of angles 107 and 107' whichbear mirror image counterpart relationship to each other have theirhorizontal legs 108 and 108', respectively, welded to the bottom of baseor plate 72 (FIGS. 5 and 8). Vertical legs 109 and 109' have mountedthereon plastic buttons 110 which slide on the vertical plates 111 and111', respectively, which are welded between the front and rear columns11 and 11 of the frame. Plastic buttons 110' are mounted on verticalplates 111 and 111' for slidingly engaging vertical legs 109 and 109'.Angles 107 and 107' in conjunction with buttons 110 and 110' and relatedstructure prevent the hydraulic container 21 from swaying excessivelyfrom side to side both during insertion and withdrawal from the housingand they further stabilize hydraulic container 21 when it is locatedwithin the housing. Horizontal legs 108 and 108' of angles 107 and 107,respectively, have slots 170 and 171, respectively, therein to receivethe lower portions of triangular links 81 and 81 when the latter are inthe position of FIG. 3.

Hydraulic container 21 is secured to front panel 112 having handle 113thereon. The connection is made through bracket 114 (FIGS. 3 and 7),secured to panel brace 114' at a lower portion of panel 112, and throughbracket 115 (FIG. 7) and its mirror image counterpart 115' (FIG. 4).Bracket 115 has an end 116 secured as by welding to brace 112 of panel112 and the other end 117 secured as by welding to the curved portion ofbracket 83. Handle 113 is used to lock panel 112 in closed position andto this end it is formed integrally with portion 118 having latchportion 119 on the other end which is biased to the right in FIG. 4 byspring 120 which is interposed between portion 118 and the outer surfaceof panel 112. A latch retainer 121 in the form of an elongated channelhas its opposite ends secured on front angles 11 and it has an aperture122 therein for receiving latch 119. The aperture is elongated so as toreceive latch 119 as a result of pivoting handle 113 in a clockwisedirection substantially about point 123. It will be appreciated ofcourse that panel 112 can be pushed shut and latch will automaticallyslide into opening 122 to effect a latching action.

As noted above, a receptacle container 22 is mounted within hydrauliccontainer 21. Receptacle container 22 is essentially cylindricalthroughout its length and includes a closed bottom 125 to which acircular plate 126 is attached by bolt 127 to sandwich portion 128 ofdiaphragm 104 therebetween. As can be seen from FIG. 5, diaphragm 104 inconjunction with lower section 100 of hydraulic container 21 provides achamber 129 which receives water or other hydraulic fluid from flexibleconduit 130.

In order to initiate a trash compacting operation door panel l12 ismoved to the position shown in FIG. 3 to exposed hydraulic container 21and receptacle container 22 contained therein. Thereafter a trashcontainer 23 is inserted downwardly into receptacle container 22 afterbeing lined with a removable bag liner 132, the upper end of which isrolled around rim 133 of container 23 and caused to lie on the outsidethereof so that its edge 134 assumes the position shown in FIG. 4whereby the upper portion of liner 132 is wedged between upper portion135 of container 23 and the upper portion 136 of receptacle container22. Thereafter trash such as bottles, cans, boxes, and other waste arethrown into the lined receptacle 23. The front panel and hydrauliccontainer 21 are thereafter moved from the position shown in FIG. 3 tothe position shown in FIG. 2 until latch 119 is in a locked condition.At this time a limit switch 137 which is secured to channel 37 ofbracket 138 (FIG. 3) is closed because of its engagement by link 45. Iflimit switch 137 is not closed, compaction cannot occur.

After panel 112 has been moved to its closed position, trash container23 is in axial alignment with ram 19. Thereafter, motor pump unit 20,which is mounted by nuts and bolts 117' on panel 118. on the rear of theframe, is actuated by pressing switch 157 to pump water from reservoir24 into siphon conduit 139, chamber 140, conduit 141, pump 142, conduit143 and flexible conduit 130 into chamber 129. This will causereceptacle container 22 to move from the position shown in FIG. 4 to theposition shown in FIG. 5 wherein ram 19 enters container 23 to compressthe trash therein. The receptacle container 22, during upward movement,is guided by reduced cylindrical portion 136' of container 21. Apressure responsive switch 159 is provided in the hydraulic circuitleading to flexible conduit 130 so that if for any reason the pressurereaches a predetermined value signifying the completion of compaction,this switch will open to break the circuit to motor 20' as can bevisualized from FIG. 15.

It is to be noted that there is a draft both in ram 19 and in container23 so as to facilitate their separation at the end of compaction. Itwill be appreciated that when chamber 129 is filled, diaphragm 104 whichprovides a seal between container 21 and container 22 will providerolling engagement with the wall of upper container section 102. At thispoint it is to be noted that chamber 140 which is connected to siphonconduit 139 is completely enclosed except for the entry of conduits 139and 141 thereto. Therefore when the water in chamber 140 is pumped outby pump 142 there will be a siphon action through conduit 139 to refillit which provides a continuous supply of water to chamber 129. The waterwhich fills chamber 129 when the parts are in the position shown in FIG.is returned to reservoir 24 because of the action of springs 145 whichhave their lower portions connected to brackets 146 (FIG. 16) welded tothe bottom of container 21 and their upper portions secured to flange147 mounted on container 22.

A plastic boot 149 having bayonet slots 150 on diametrically oppositesides thereof for receiving pins 151 extending outwardly frOm ram 19 isadapted to fit in complementary mating relationship with the outside ofram 19. It will be appreciated that when boot 149 becomes too dirty, itcan be removed by merely twisting it so as to permit it to drop and itcan thereafter be cleaned and replaced.

The simplified electrical circuit for operation of the above describedcompactor is shown in FIG. 15. More specifically, lines 152 and 153 arecoupled to a suitable source of voltage. Coupled in series in line 152is a key switch 154 for receiving key 155 (FIG. 1) for providing maincurrent to the circuit. If key switch 154 is not closed, the unit cannotoperate. Also in series in line 152 is a normally closed stop switch156. If for any reason it is desired to stop the compactor duringoperation, it is merely necessary to press switch 156 to terminate flowof current in the circuit. Also coupled in series in line 152 is anormally open start switch 157 which when closed completes a circuit torelay coil 158 through normally closed pressure switch 159 (FIGS. 7 andwhen door switch 137 is closed as a result of the trash container 23being in alignment with the ram 19. Upon energization of relay 158 relayswitch .158-1 will close so that when switch 157 is released the circuitwill be maintained in operation. Also, upon energization of relay coil158 relay switch 158-2 will be caused to close to cause motor portion ofmotor pump unit 20 to operate to drive centrifugal pump 142. However,before start switch 157 is closed, the operator should observe that lamp161 is ignited, and this occurs when switch 160 is closed by virtue ofrim 147 engaging it as shown in FIG. 2 to signify that the trashreceptacle is in alignment with ram 19. As noted above, when thecontents of the trash receptacle are compressed to a predeterminedvalue, the pressure sensed by pressure switch 159 will reach a value atwhich it will open to terminate the flow of current to relay coil 158and thus terminate the compaction cycle, whereupon springs 145 willcause the parts to return to the position shown 7 in FIG. 2.

What is claimed is:

1. A trash compactor comprising a frame, ram means mounted relative tosaid frame, a trash receptacle, linkage means secured relative to saidframe for moving said receptacle between a first position wherein trashmay be loaded therein and a second position wherein it is in axialalignment with said ram means, reservoir means for hydraulic fluid, pumpmeans in communication with said reservoir means, an expandiblehydraulic container in communication with said pump means, means forremovably mounting said receptacle on said hydraulic container andmoving it toward said ram means so as to compact trash in saidreceptacle, and control means for selectively energizing said pumpmeans.

2. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 wherein said reservoirmeans is located within said ram means.

3. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 including a movable base,and wherein said linkage means comprises first elongated links havingfirst upper portions pivotally secured relative to said frame and firstlower portions pivotally secured relative to said movable base, secondelongated links having second upper portions pivotally secured relativeto said hydraulic container and second lower portions pivotally securedrelative to said movable base, and interconnecting linkage means forcoordinating movement of said second elongated links in response tomovement of said first elongated links.

4. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 3 wherein said firstelongated links comprise a first pair of substantially parallel links oneach of two opposite sides of said hydraulic container, and wherein saidsecond elongated links comprise a second pair of substantially parallellinks on each of two opposite sides of said hydraulic container andlying in substantially the same planes as said first pairs of elongatedlinks.

5. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 4 wherein certain of saidfirst and second links nest within each other when said receptacle is inalignment with said ram means.

6. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 including a boot, and meansremovably mounting said boot on said ram means.

7. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 6 wherein said ram meanspossesses a draft in the direction of said receptacle and wherein saidboot fits in complementary mating relationship on said ram means.

8. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pumP meanscomprises an electric motor and pump combination, and wherein saidcontrol means includes an electric circuit for energizing said electricmotor, and pressure responsive valve means in communication with saidpump means for breaking said electric circuit and thus deenergizing saidelectric motor when said pump means produces a predetermined pressure insaid hydraulic container.

9. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 8 including a base formounting said movable container, and spring means effectively coupledbetween said hydraulic container and said base for withdrawing saidreceptacle from engagement with said ram means upon deenergization ofsaid electric motor and for forcing hydraulic fluid from said hydrauliccontainer into said reservoir means.

1. A trash compactor comprising a frame, ram means mounted relative tosaid frame, a trash receptacle, linkage means secured relative to saidframe for moving said receptacle between a first position wherein trashmay be loaded therein and a second position wherein it is in axialalignment with said ram means, reservoir means for hydraulic fluid, pumpmeans in communication with said reservoir means, an expandiblehydraulic container in communication with said pump means, means forremovably mounting said receptacle on said hydraulic container andmoving it toward said ram means so as to compact trash in saidreceptacle, and control means for selectively energizing said pumpmeans.
 1. A trash compactor comprising a frame, ram means mountedrelative to said frame, a trash receptacle, linkage means securedrelative to said frame for moving said receptacle between a firstposition wherein trash may be loaded therein and a second positionwherein it is in axial alignment with said ram means, reservoir meansfor hydraulic fluid, pump means in communication with said reservoirmeans, an expandible hydraulic container in communication with said pumpmeans, means for removably mounting said receptacle on said hydrauliccontainer and moving it toward said ram means so as to compact trash insaid receptacle, and control means for selectively energizing said pumpmeans.
 2. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidreservoir means is located within said ram means.
 3. A trash compactoras set forth in claim 1 including a movable base, and wherein saidlinkage means comprises first elongated links having first upperportions pivotally secured relative to said frame and first lowerportions pivotally secured relative to said movable base, secondelongated links having second upper portions pivotally secured relativeto said hydraulic container and second lower portions pivotally securedrelative to said movable base, and interconnecting linkage means forcoordinating movement of said second elongated links in response tomovement of said first elongated links.
 4. A trash compactor as setforth in claim 3 wherein said first elongated links comprise a firstpair of substantially parallel links on each of two opposite sides ofsaid hydraulic container, and wherein said second elongated linkscomprise a second pair of substantially parallel links on each of twoopposite sides of said hydraulic container and lying in substantiallythe same planes as said first pairs of elongated links.
 5. A trashcompactor as set forth in claim 4 wherein certain of said first andsecond links nest within each other when said receptacle is in alignmentwith said ram means.
 6. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1including a boot, and means removably mounting said boot on said rammeans.
 7. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 6 wherein said rammeans possesses a draft in the direction of said receptacle and whereinsaid boot fits in complementary mating relationship on said ram means.8. A trash compactor as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pumP meanscomprises an electric motor and pump combination, and wherein saidcontrol means includes an electric ciRcuit for energizing said electricmotor, and pressure responsive valve means in communication with saidpump means for breaking said electric circuit and thus deenergizing saidelectric motor when said pump means produces a predetermined pressure insaid hydraulic container.